Evolutionary Link to Gambling?

A team of international scientists believe they have discovered that basic survival techniques used by early humans influence the decisions gamblers make when placing bets.

These findings may help to explain why some treatment options for problem gamblers are often ineffective.

In the study, recently published in Frontiers in Psychology, Canadian and UK researchers examined how gamblers made decisions after they won or lost.

They found that, like our ancestors, the gamblers relied on their past experiences to predict what might happen in the future.

But in games of chance where the outcome is completely random, this strategy doesn’t work.

“If you are tossing a coin and it turns up heads five times in a row, we have this strong feeling that it will turn up tails on the sixth try,” said Dr. Jim Lyons, an associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University and lead researcher on the project. “But the chances are still exactly 50-50.”

“The results of our work suggest, perhaps for the first time, that certain aspects of problem gambling behavior may be related to hard-wired, basic neurobiological factors related to how we direct our attention,” he says.

Researchers conducted two experiments to test their theory.

First, participants were asked to observe two targets being illuminated in random sequence. The researchers then gave them money to bet on which target would be illuminated.

Participants maintained the amounts of their bets regardless of whether they won or lost. But in instances where they won, they were more likely to move their bets to the other target for their next wager.

In a second experiment, participants undertook the same test with a partner. Like the first experiment, players maintained the amount of their bets regardless of whether they won or lost. If their partner correctly guessed a target, they were more likely to move on to the next target when their turn came.

Dr. Dan Weeks, a cognitive psychologist andÂ researcher at the University of Lethbridge, said humans have evolved to modify their behavior based on what they experience in the context of their location.

“Humans make rational decisions on a day-to-day basis based on experience. Think about someone picking apples in an orchard. Once the apples from the first tree are picked, it is a rational decision to move on to the next tree,” he said.

Researchers believe the findings are important because they suggest that, at least in some cases, current strategies to change gambling behavior will not be effective.

Investigators next plan to investigate how this sort of behavior may change as people age, since evidence suggests problem gambling can be particularly acute in the elderly.

Related Articles

About Rick Nauert PhD

Dr. Rick Nauert has over 25 years experience in clinical, administrative and academic healthcare. He is currently an associate professor for Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals doctoral program in health promotion and wellness. Dr. Nauert began his career as a clinical physical therapist and served as a regional manager for a publicly traded multidisciplinary rehabilitation agency for 12 years. He has masters degrees in health-fitness management and healthcare administration and a doctoral degree from The University of Texas at Austin focused on health care informatics, health administration, health education and health policy. His research efforts included the area of telehealth with a specialty in disease management.